


a different encounter

by GilgaNyan (NarryEm)



Series: Adventures in Chaldea [8]
Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drabble, F/F, Ficlet, Genderbending, Genderswap, Short One Shot, rider!karna
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-25 07:18:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15635898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NarryEm/pseuds/GilgaNyan
Summary: what would happen if Ritsuka and co. manage to summon a Rider version of Karna?





	a different encounter

**Author's Note:**

> I made a few changes to the draft version of Karna to suit my personal tastes. . . a girl can dream!
> 
> ~~I might sketch out what she looks like if you can put up with the awful drawing ehehe ~~  
> ~~~~

 

After the long trek across the North American continent and the subsequent battle with a Demonic Pilar, the last thing that Ritsuka needed in her life was a surprise.  But lo and behold, Dr. Romani had the brilliant idea to summon a Servant to see if they could reunite with their new comrades from the Fifth Singularity.

What they got as a result was a new addition to their team.  The newcomer had a familiar face but the class the hero materialised into was not.

 

“Karna.  It seems that this time, I have been summoned into the Rider class.  I look forward to driving my chariot towards your victory, Master.”

“Uh, he-hello to you as well, Karna,” Ritsuka stammers. 

Karna, as a manifestation of a Servant in the Rider class, is vastly different from the Lancer version.  For starters, he has turned into a she.  She now sports a mane of flame-red hair that tumbles down her back in tousled waves right down to the small dip above her derrière.  The flashy black and gold armour remains has been replaced by a simple black outfit dating from Ancient India accented with golden gauntlets and armour-plated boots.   Ritsuka supposes that her appearance matches what happened to Karna before the Kurukshetra War. Her skin no longer resembles stereotypical of a pale Northern European but rather a heathy bronzed tan that highlights her chiseled features.  Her blue and red eyes are colder than what Ritsuka recalls from her recent Rayshift mission.

“Is something the matter, Master?” Karna asks.  Her voice is still as cold as ever, with the barest hint of warmth and concern for her Master.  It hasn’t lost the subtle sensual and coquettish quality of her male version.

“No, it’s nothing.  I’m just not used to seeing you in this form,” Ritsuka replies honestly.

Karna cracks a ghost of a smile.  “I’m surprised as well.  Granted, I am more known for my chariot and archery in the legends of my country but it is not often that a Servant is summoned into multiple classes.”  She glances down at her chest area.  “Perhaps in a different world to our own, I was a woman warrior.  The way that the Grail works remains a mystery to us.”

“I’ll say,” Ritsuka mutters. 

Karna gazes at the bow in her hand.  “It appears that I can use my Vijaya in this form.  This was a bow that was bestowed to me by my teacher, who repented his hasty actions of cursing me upon learning of my origin.  It has served me well in many battles up until I met a warrior who could match me skill for skill.”

Ritsuka almost flinches when the Rider strides forward and places her hand on Ritsuka’s shoulder.  “You needn’t think too hard about this.  All I am is a weapon that you should wield mercilessly.  My sole purpose is to fight for you and the sake of humanity, Master.  Nothing else matters for me.”

“O-okay then.  Let’s go introduce you to the rest of the gang.  I’m sure that some of them will be thrilled to meet ya.”

 

 

 

~

 

 

 

 

Turns out, not all of the Servants are thrilled to meet the Rider Karna.

Those who participated in the Holy Grail War held on a cyberspace at the surface of the Moon met Karna with open hostility and doubt. Sir Gawain in particular was weary of the Indian prince.  Ritsuka secretly breathed a sigh of relief that she didn’t have Arjuna on the team for she has read that Arjuna was the one who ultimately killed Karna in the epic.

Rama, however, seemed more than delighted to meet Karna.  Even though they were both characters from famed Indian epics, Rama’s eyes shone with admiration and adoration for the red-haired beauty.  He did not seem fazed at all by the fact that Karna was vastly different from how the legends were told.

“I don’t mind that Prince Rama thinks of me as some idol of hers,” Karna reveals once she is alone with Ritsuka.  “I was cast aside as an infant for the fear that my mother my beget for having a child out of wedlock.  Admiration is something that I did not receive growing up.  I was looked down upon for presumably not being born of a high caste.”

“But the people changed their stance once you were named as the King of Anga, right?’ Ritsuka prods.

“Yes and no.  It was only Duryodhana and his family who treated me as their equals.  The Pandava brothers acknowledged that I was the best and more fearsome warrior to fight in the war.  Indra, Arjuna’s divine father, wished for his son to survive so he devised a plan to weaken me.  He sought out my golden armour knowing that I could not refuse those asking me to gift them.  I knew fully well who the brahmin was and yet I could not break my vows.  He was impressed by my noble sacrifice and in return gifted me his Vasavi Shakti that he did not even lend to his own son.  In exchange for my invincibility, all I got was a single strike which may or may not be the final blow dealt to my greatest enemy.”

Ritsuka sniffles.  It’s so not fair that people always took Karna for granted in his life.  A warrior as talented and kind-hearted as Karna deserved a better ending for his story.

“You forget that the story I was featured in did not cast me as the protagonist,” Karna reminds Ritsuka in a gentle voice.  “I was the villain who sullied the great guru’s contest of archery for the sheer purpose of humiliation.  I killed off Arjuna’s charioteer in a cowardly manner.  I broke many vows I had many upon my honour.  Perhaps it was karmic retribution that I met my end as I did.

“It’s not fair though!  Who decided that only the protagonist should get the happy ending?”

Karna closes her eyes and blinks them open slowly.  Inside the one blue and one red irises, silent flame of fury burns brightly.  “The world is not fair, especially to the heroes.  Our tales are meant to teach a lesson.  It is not in my place for me to complain about the way I died.”

Ritsuka sighs.  She does have a point, as infuriating as it is to admit to that.  So many of the humans and gods in Greek mythology meet tragic ends for the same reason.

“Well I don’t give a damn about that.  I know that I’m still a newbie when it comes to magecraft but this is my vow to you as your Master: I will do everything in my power to ensure that you can get the happy ending you more than deserve this time around!”

Her bold proclamation is met with utter silence.  Karna’s crimson lips part and then seal shut, perhaps at loss for words.

“It appears that I have underestimated you, my new Master,” Karna says, her voice sotto voce.  “Call it naïveté of the youth but you seem to stand firm on your belief that I deserve a happy ending.  Very well.  I shall look forward to working with you in this search of the Grail, Master.”

Karna takes Ritsuka’s right hand and kisses the Command Seals engraved on the back of it.

“Th-thank you, Karna.”

“It is my pleasure, milady.”

Somewhere in the depths of those two-coloured eyes, Ritsuka sees a glimmer of hope and curiosity.  She hopes that she isn’t seeing things.

After all, she doesn’t want to be a Master who cannot even abide by her vow.

 


End file.
